I rarely give up on a book that I started since whatever I've read would be an investment loss. Before I start a new book I research the storyline and check out a few reviewers on Goodreads so I seldom find myself in that position. It's no different than a movie, if I like the genre and the lead actor and I've read a review from a reviewer that I respect likely I'll never feel I've wasted my time or money on a picture. The 10 minutes I spend on the front end saves me wasting time and creates anticipation.

If a story has extremely verbose descriptions, or verbosity in general (Looking at you LOTF!). I also lose interest in books that are written in exhaustingly old-fashioned styles. It's not like I DON'T like those things, but I've seen times when it just goes too far. I've also completely dropped books because of how much I despise a writer's way of portraying important characters (Like Harry Potter, who, even though had NO experience with, was immediately the best at Quiddich and Dada).

Oh, and unnecessary romantic subplots. I have many hateful relationships with books that drop the (innefective?) romance bomb in the last few pages.

I am guilty of fighting tooth and nail to finish a book, even when the first 100 pages are clearly not worth that dedication. It doesn't happen often, though, because I know what I like and even when entering uncharted territory, I check carefully on Goodreads if the book in question will really appeal to me.

"Wind howled through the night, carrying the scent that would change the world.""There was death at its beginning, as there would be death again at its end.""Shoot for the Moon. Even if you fail, you'll land among the stars."

2 or 3 chapters is enough for me to decide to keep on reading or not.
There are already far too many books on my To-Read shelf, life’s too short to be reading mediocre books.

Currently reading the 800+ pages ‘The Forgetting Moon’

by Brian Lee Durfee? How is it.....?

a prophecy of lies.... Magic,.... betrayal ....Sounds like my kind of book

It was a very good read in my opinion, a bit like The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding in tone.
I’m just grateful when I find a fantasy novel that I really enjoy, these days everything just has to be Grimdark which I don’t really like.
Just on a side note ‘The Blackest Heart’ was just released a couple of weeks ago so that will keep me occupied, think it runs over 1000 pages.

Same here. I used to read the whole thing before, but as I got older, I just cherish my free time too much. If in 50 or so pages I can't get interested in the story or the characters, that's it for me.

The book doesn't have to be amazing for me to read it, I read a wide array of genres. What makes me wanna stop is if I just can't connect, and that can happen for many reasons. Some writers just don't have the right skills, some are just plain boring to read despite ambition.

I used to never stop a book once I started it but more recently I’ve had a “there are too many other books I want to read” attitude. It’s only happened to me for 2 books so far (I don’t want to say which books because I don’t want to push my negative opinions on books/authors other people love). 1 was because the writing style was just too annoying to the point that reading it was almost work and I intended for the book to be a pleasure read. I’m not even sure exactly what was wrong with the other one but I realized I kept losing interest after having only read a few pages. It’s a real shame because both were genres I generally enjoy and was in the mood for at the time and they’re both considered great books/authors. I actually really enjoyed another book by the author of the first one.

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” -C.S. Lewis

Thank you to everyone here that contributes to my love for the words on a page (or on a screen )